Former DCG advisor Larry Summers on list of Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Harvard friends’
Former Digital Currency Group (DCG) advisor Larry Summers has been named among a number of academics with connections to disgraced American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Summers appears in the hotly-anticipated trove of court documents dubbed ‘The Epstein List’ that names dozens of high-profile individuals with ties to the deceased sex offender.
He was named alongside fellow Harvard professors David Gergen, Stephen Kosslyn, and Henry Rosovsky in a reply declaration from lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz. Dershowitz had previously acted as Epsteins’s lawyer and has himself been accused of taking part in the late pedophile’s sex trafficking ring.
In the declaration, Dershowitz states, “Jeffrey Epstein was heavily involved in funding academic research at Harvard and kept an office there, and he was consequently friendly with many academics, including David Gergen, Marvin Minsky, Larry Summers, Stephen Kosslyn, Henry Rosovsky, Howard Gardner, and Stephen Jay Gould, among others.”
While it’s not explicitly claimed in the heavily redacted document that Summers engaged in or was aware of any illegal behavior, Dershowitz does also claim:
“Many of these academics engaged in the same behavior that apparently led Mr. Cassell to believe Ms. Giuffre’s allegations that I had abused her. According to workers at Mr. Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion, he received visits from ‘friends from Harvard’ and other ‘very important people.’
“All of the ‘evidence’ that Ms. Giuffre and her lawyers claim implicates me is equally applicable to dozens of other academics and public figures who were associated with Mr. Epstein — including Larry Summers, Stephen Hawking, Henry Rosovsky, Nathan Myhrvold, Steven Pinker, Martin Nowak, Daniel C. Dennett, David Gergen, George Church, Richard Dawkins, Gerard ‘t Hooft, David Gross, Frank Wilzek, Howard Gardner, Stephen Jay Gould, and many others.
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Summers’ links to Epstein have been known for some time. During his tenure as Harvard president, president, he allegedly fostered a “special connection” with Epstein who promised to donate upwards of $25 million to the university.
Summers reportedly flew on Epstein’s private plane on at least four occasions, including on one occasion in 1998 when he was US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
The so-called Epstein List doesn’t reveal any new information about Epstein or his crimes but does include the names of dozens of politicians, celebrities, and other high-profile figures who were in some way linked to the late trafficker. Names on the list include former US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, senior British Royal Prince Andrew, late pop megastar Michael Jackson, and Professor Stephen Hawking.
Summers left DCG after FTX criticism
Summers cut ties with DCG sometime in late 2022. The former Obama advisor joined the group in 2016 a year after its formation and was listed on its website as recently as November 2022.
At the time, his resignation was explained as part of a “scaling back of commitments,” but it wasn’t detailed exactly what other positions Summers had also given up.
Summers has previously faced criticism for his role at DCG, most notably for his comments about Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed crypto exchange FTX. In mid-November, 2022, Summers was widely quoted as comparing FTX to Enron in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Scoop: Larry Summers gives up advisory role at crypto firm DCG amid criticism
Following the interview, the influential Washington watchdog group The Revolving Door Project said that Summers and Bloomberg should have disclosed the top economist’s own ties to crypto companies including DCG. DCG’s own ties to FTX weren’t disclosed either.